 | Interview by Amal Lina When we first listened to their music, we were transported to another dimension and we knew that we were exactly where we needed to be. Lucky for us, we got up close and personal with these boys, and here's what we asked. |
Tell us a little bit about 7nightsatsea.
We’re a homegrown instrumental/experimental band that formed back in 2012. Through the 3 years we’ve been together, we’ve been fortunate enough to play on stages at Baybeats Festival 2013, Mosaic Festival 2014 and even open up for international acts such as Touché Amoré (US) and Tricot (JPN). We have a 6-track EP out called ‘Drift Easy, Heavy Hands’, and are currently finishing up our full-length album that will be out sometime this year.
One fact about each band member.
Hafiz, our drummer, runs a clothing line called ‘Dirty Laundry’. Farhan, our guitarist, also plays for local hardcore band’ Tipping Point’. Damian, our bassist, has a solo project called ‘Widower’s Palms’. Keith, our guitarist, is a freelance writer for local online publication sites.
How did all of you come together?
We all pretty much grew up within the same circle of friends; the local music scene is quite a tight-knit crowd, so everyone kind of knows each other somehow. We’ve all played in different bands before this, some of us even schooled together, so it was just a mutual and collective interest for post-rock music that sparked the formation of this band. None of us had ever dabbled in this area of music before, so we were all just curious and eager to try something new.
How did the name 7nightsatsea come about?
Choosing a band name is always tricky. We wanted something intriguing, something that would catch your attention and leave you wanting to know more. We had a few names in mind, but 7nightsatsea was kind of the only one that stuck with us, so we rolled with it. The basic concept would be that our music sort of illustrates what you might feel if you spent ‘7 nights at sea’ alone. It’s vague and might not even make sense honestly, but I guess that may be why it’s so befitting for us in a way. People often just refer to us as ‘7 nights’ these days, which was never planned for, but it’s catchy and has actually grown on us.
We’re a homegrown instrumental/experimental band that formed back in 2012. Through the 3 years we’ve been together, we’ve been fortunate enough to play on stages at Baybeats Festival 2013, Mosaic Festival 2014 and even open up for international acts such as Touché Amoré (US) and Tricot (JPN). We have a 6-track EP out called ‘Drift Easy, Heavy Hands’, and are currently finishing up our full-length album that will be out sometime this year.
One fact about each band member.
Hafiz, our drummer, runs a clothing line called ‘Dirty Laundry’. Farhan, our guitarist, also plays for local hardcore band’ Tipping Point’. Damian, our bassist, has a solo project called ‘Widower’s Palms’. Keith, our guitarist, is a freelance writer for local online publication sites.
How did all of you come together?
We all pretty much grew up within the same circle of friends; the local music scene is quite a tight-knit crowd, so everyone kind of knows each other somehow. We’ve all played in different bands before this, some of us even schooled together, so it was just a mutual and collective interest for post-rock music that sparked the formation of this band. None of us had ever dabbled in this area of music before, so we were all just curious and eager to try something new.
How did the name 7nightsatsea come about?
Choosing a band name is always tricky. We wanted something intriguing, something that would catch your attention and leave you wanting to know more. We had a few names in mind, but 7nightsatsea was kind of the only one that stuck with us, so we rolled with it. The basic concept would be that our music sort of illustrates what you might feel if you spent ‘7 nights at sea’ alone. It’s vague and might not even make sense honestly, but I guess that may be why it’s so befitting for us in a way. People often just refer to us as ‘7 nights’ these days, which was never planned for, but it’s catchy and has actually grown on us.
Four words that best describe your sound: |
| Where do you draw inspiration from? We’re all fervent music lovers, and all of us have very distinct tastes, so most of the inspiration we draw from is through the different kinds of music we listen to. It’s cool cause everyone has something dissimilar to offer to the table, so the process of piecing it all together cohesively is always interesting for us; there are just so many ways we can go about it. There are tons of artists out there doing absolutely mind-blowing things that no one’s done before, and every week we’re exposed to something new, so that really inspires us with our music. To always be pushing our musical capabilities. What have you learnt about playing music live? It really just is genuinely unpredictable. You can rehearse and plan out every aspect of your performance right down to the minutest detail, but once you get up on that stage, your nerves sort of take over and you just got to let everything course out naturally. I guess that’s also the thrill of it, not knowing how it’s going to go or what’s going to happen, you just ride it out and let the music guide you through. So I would say that’s the most important thing we’ve learnt from playing music live, to always expect the unexpected. | Who influences the music that you play? Mostly other musicians. Not sure if it’s possible for us to list down specifically who, cause that might take forever, but we’re basically always on the lookout for fresh ways to push the boundaries and explore unfamiliar territory. Of course, when we first started out, post-rock music was all that influenced us. Listening to bands like This Will Destroy You and Explosions in the Sky really helped shape our first few songs, but I think as we progressed, we slowly opened up the doors to more experimentation and exploring how we could incorporate more diversity in our songwriting. Name one person you’d love to see in your audience. Kanye West. Where can we listen to your music? You can find our music at: 7nightsatsea.bandcamp.com Or you can follow us for updates on twitter (@7nightsatsea) or find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/7nightsatsea |
I guess that’s also the thrill of it, not knowing how it’s going to go or what’s going to happen, you just ride it out and let the music guide you through.
